DALLAS (AP) — Lawyers for Texas’ embattled attorney general have asked the state bar association to drop its investigation into whether the Republican’s failed efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election amounted to professional misconduct, arguing the probe is an unconstitutional overreach.
In late May, the State Bar of Texas began looking into Attorney General Ken Paxton’s petitioning of the U.S. Supreme Court to block Joe Biden’s victory based on bogus claims of fraud. The investigation was prompted by a Democratic Party activist’s complaint that the Republican official’s actions were frivolous and unethical.
“The regulation of the professional conduct of attorneys does not extend to the regulation of the decisions of the Attorney General, his Office, or any other agency that happens to be led by a licensed attorney, or any public official who may happen to be a licensed attorney,” a lawyer for Paxton’s office wrote in the 22-page reply.
Kevin Moran, the 72-year-old president of the Galveston Island Democrats, said he’s proceeding with his complaint. He provided Paxton’s response to The Associated Press and said “my reading of it is that he has declared himself above the law, essentially.”
A spokeswoman for the bar, which operates under the authority of Texas Supreme Court, declined to comment. Paxton’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The investigation is just one on Paxton’s legal and political liabilities. He is facing a years-old criminal case, a newer FBI investigation and challenges from two Republican primary opponents who have sought to make electoral hay of the various controversies.
Paxton pleaded not guilty in a state securities fraud case, which has been stalled since 2015. He has broadly denied wrongdoing in the separate criminal probe launched after his then-top deputies reported him to the FBI last year for alleged bribery and abuse of office.
(Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)
